Seth's Tattoo (A fanfic mash-up that takes place before THE RETURN)
by appifanie
Summary: Takes place before the events of THE RETURN but after THE SENTINEL. Spoilers if you haven't finished JLA's Covenant series. Seth stops by a tattoo parlor in CO where he gets a cool tattoo, meets some friends, and kicks some butt.


The needle jabbed my skin over and over, a harsh reminder of why I was here. Not just in this chair, but in a random tattoo parlor in Colorado. After so many hours sitting still, my whole body ached, but I wouldn't stop. I needed something to keep me going on this godsforsaken quest.

I shouldn't have stopped, not in the middle of a job, but when I'd seen their artwork in the window, I had to come in. I needed a reminder of why I was here, of what I was doing. The next time I wondered why I'd gotten myself into it, I'd remember her, and everything I owed her.

I might as well have been drilling her name into my skin, but if St. Delphi ever saw it, he'd probably skin me alive.

In this case, subtle was better.

Not my usual motto, but I couldn't always go balls to the wall. This was one of those times.

"Are you almost done?" I grunted at the guy holding the gun. I couldn't remember his name right now, but it was something ridiculous. Roar or Raj or Jie or whatever.

"Generally, one doesn't mouth off to the guy with the needle," he glowered. He played it tough, but I could tell it was an illusion. There was a lightness in his heart that showed in his eyes. The bastard was definitely living his happily ever after. I tried not to hate him for it.

"Rule." The pink haired pixie from the front desk stuck her head into the room. "Shaw will be here in thirty." She was ridiculously hot for someone who looked like...

"Tinkerbell!" I exclaimed, smirking at her. How had it taken two of the longest tattoo sessions on record for me to figure that out?

"Great. Never heard that before." Her eyes narrowed and I winked at her. Sauntering out of the room, she flipped me off.

"That's my sister-in-law and the mother of my niece," Rule growled. Shit.

He wiped off my arm and pointed me toward the mirror. It had taken two sessions to complete the tattoo. Rule had wanted to do it in three, but I told him I couldn't get that much time off of work. Technically true. Remediations didn't come with a set schedule, but I owed my time and no one, least of all Apollo, would let me forget it.

Leaning forward, I put my hands on my knees. It shouldn't have been this hard to look at it, but no matter what I told myself, I'd done it all for her. For Alex. This was all I could have of her, no matter how long I had left, on this planet or in the underworld.

Jumping off the table, I headed for the mirror. Focusing on the bottom half of my arm first, I took in the black and grey Apollo, complete with sarcastic smile and creepy Gods eyes. In his hand, he held a pocket watch. My life in his hands. But the top half, that was all Alex. My angel, sword in hand, ready to take down the world. Every time I saw it, I'd remember that she gave up her life to save me; to save everyone. Being Apollo's bitch for life was the least I could do for her.

My eyes watered and I closed them, desperate to regain control. Behind me, Rule cleared his throat. "If you need a drink, my friend Jet and his band are having a concert tonight at a local bar. You're welcome to come."

My normal reply would have been to wonder why he was asking me out, but tonight, I needed a friendly face. And a lot of beer. "Yeah, that sounds good." Sitting back in the chair, I held out my arm for Rule to wrap it, but the sound of shattering glass had us both running.

Out front, Cora stood behind the reception desk, paralyzed, her eyes wide. Three pure-bloods stood by the door. Dammit, not now.

"Hey, douchecanoes. Now's really not good for me. I'd love to take a rain check though." My left arm throbbed, the new tattoo ticked off at the abrupt movements I'd subjected it to. It was going to get worse. I turned back toward Cora. "Run. You too," I instructed Rule. I knew before he shook his head that he'd stand his ground, but I had to try and get him out of there.

"Apollyon," the big one growled. He wore an huge grin, at odds with his being there to murder me. Or maybe he was the kind of sociopath who was fond of killing. A crazy person after my own heart.

"Is it too much to ask for a single vacation day?" I asked them, already calculating my moves. I'd go for the biggest one first. Rule looked tough, maybe he could hold his own against the tiny one, at least until I could get the big one down. Being outnumbered was fine when I was the only one involved; having to worry about someone else definitely put a kink in my plans.

I waited for them to make the first move as I looked around. There wasn't anything here to use as a weapon, so it was a good thing that I had all I needed on me. When the big guy finally made his move, I met him half way, hunching over and tackling him to the ground. With the big ones, it was all about speed and leverage, and now I had both.

The other two guys made their way to Rule. Normally they'd all be mine, but they wanted the interloper gone. Sweeping out my leg as I pounded the guy on the floor, I managed to bring one of them down. Rule was breathing heavy now. Being in shape didn't mean you could handle yourself in an unmatched battle, and he was learning that the hard way. I had to finish off the guy under me and help. Pulling a knife out of my belt, I slammed the blade into his chest.

With him out of the way, I grabbed the medium jerk off of Rule and finished him off as well with another knife to the chest. I was just about to get the third guy when Cora came running out of the back, baseball bat in hand. With one solid thwack, the third guy was down for the count.

"What the hell?" Rule asked, sinking down to the floor. His breathing was still labored and he had some blood on his face, but otherwise he seemed fine. "Are you some kind of ninja?" Cora stood behind him, bat raised, eyes wide and unblinking.

I waited for a moment to see if I felt the telltale signs of Sentinels incoming, but there was nothing. Pulling out my phone, I scrolled to "King Douche" and hit the call button. There was no way I could leave the shop with this mess to clean up, and if those lazy ass Sentinels weren't coming, then I'd have to call for help. "Get your ass over here," I said into the phone before ending the call. Seconds later, the door to the shop opened and Apollo stepped in wearing his Leon suit. Rule bolted up.

"This is what I get for letting you have personal time," Apollo said, eyeing the mess. "I hope the tattoo was satisfactory?" Walking over to him, I turned to the side at the last second, letting him get an eyeful of my new ink. His eyes started at the top, smiling at the vague likeness of Alex. When he got to the bottom of the tattoo, his eyes narrowed. "Symbolism. I like it."

"I apologize for the mess," he said, turning to face Rule. "I will make sure that this gets cleaned up. When you return in the morning, it'll be good as new." Rule nodded.

"Uhh, Seth, why don't we go get that wrapped up," Rule said. I followed him back to the chair. He wrapped my arm in silence as I wondered what I could possibly say to him.

"So, you said there'll be beer?" I asked.

###

The next morning I woke up with a raging hangover. My head pounding, I wanted to burrow under the covers, but I wasn't alone. I could sense him. I also knew that I wasn't in Colorado anymore.

"Apollo, you douche. Where the hell am I?"

"Madrid."

"Why in hades are we in Madrid?" I groaned.

"A new job—you'll get a helper on this one. His name is Jackson Hunt. Now get a move on. It's time to get to work."


End file.
